Many weeks I will spend the entire week thinking about and planning Sunday’s dinner. I have had a rough week—broken car, broken shower, broken refrigerator—and I did not feel I had it in me to plan an elaborate meal ahead of time. A plain ham steak, steamed green beans, a simple coleslaw, and a baked sweet potato would have to do. While this is a meal that started off simply, I got carried away.

Karl’s Ham Steak with Brandied Peach Sauce

I got into the kitchen and I had sort of a Stone Soup thing going on. Plain ham needs to be topped with something—“Hey, my white peach jam!” A little vinegar, a bit of oil, mustard—to act as an emulsifier for the oil and vinegar—a pinch of pepper, of course. “Not a bad glaze, but wait, I have a fresh peach.” Peeled, sliced, and into the pot it goes. “But what goes with fresh peaches?” Brandy and a little time to for the peaches to soak it up.

My glaze had turned into more of a sauce, but it was still raw. Cooking it in the pot—that I was using to mix it—would mash the peach slices to bits. Broiling the sauce on top of the ham—until it started to caramelize—seemed obvious at this point.

Note: In keeping with the spontaneity of this meal, Jan came up with a chocolate sauce to drizzle over ice cream at the last moment.